Unbreakable
by authoramandamarie
Summary: From now until forever...


Ginny and Harry walked down the path hand-in-hand. Not much was said these days. Mostly they walked in a calm, comfortable silence. Everything was so different. Ginny should have started her seventh year at Hogwarts, but instead she stayed behind with her family. Harry had, of course, encouraged her to go, but she was a Weasley, and stood her ground.

Harry had been asked to join the Aurors at the Ministry. Of course, he hadn't delayed in accepting the job. It was what his father had done, and he wanted to make him proud. Besides, if anyone tried to take Voldemort's place, they wouldn't stand a chance.

As the lake below the Burrow came into view, Harry stopped her. Their eyes met and she smiled at him. Harry cleared his throat as if nervous about what was coming, and ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "Ginny, I wanted to ask you something. Do you want me to now or should I wait?"

Ginny chuckled. "What would I be waiting for?"

Harry shrugged and kicked a pebble beneath his foot. "I don't know. It all seems so unreal. So many are dead. If I had just been quicker…"

Ginny put a finger across his lips, cutting off his words. "Don't go blaming yourself again, Harry. It happened the way it was supposed to. We all lost people we loved." She pointed to the house up the hill where her family sat inside, playing with the baby. "You have a godson to help take care of, remember? So I don't want to hear you going on about how bad it is."

Harry nodded, but shrugged. "He still should have known his parents."

Ginny wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. "Stop blaming yourself, Harry. We really need to put it all behind us. I know it might be hard, but that's what we need to do." A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it on Harry's jumper. "Fred would want us to forget."

Harry kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair. "I love you, Ginny."

"I love you too, Harry."

They stood in silence then, Harry's question forgotten. The sun was setting, but still they stood in each other's arms, slightly cold but comfortable. Finally, Harry pulled her back, well after the sun had set, and kissed the tip of her nose. "We should go inside now. It's getting cold and Bill and Fleur will be here in the morning."

Ginny nodded, and together they walked up the frosted hill to the Burrow. It was a restless night for them both. Ron wouldn't quit snoring on the other side of the room, waking Harry up every so often. Hermione kept waking Ginny up, asking her if the ring on her finger was an imagination. Ginny would tell her it was real, reminding herself to hit Ron over the head the next day.

At last the sun broke through the window and Ginny made her way down the stairs. Harry was sitting in front of the fire, staring into the orange embers. She fell into his arms and he smiled at her. "Good morning."

"How was your sleep?"

Harry yawned as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "Dismal. Ron had a goofy grin on his face and wouldn't quit snoring."

Ginny chuckled. "He was asleep when you got upstairs?" Harry nodded. "Ron proposed to Hermione yesterday."

Harry grinned, his heart pounding in his chest. "He did?" The crimson-haired girl below him nodded. He leaned down and pulled her head up so their lips met and gave her a soft, warm kiss.

"Now, you know what kissing gets you, don't you?"

Harry and Ginny jumped apart, looking about the room. Bill and Fleur stood in front of the fire, Fleur rubbing her belly with a diamond-clad hand. Bill winked at his younger sister and Ginny raced into his arms. "Bill, we weren't expecting you until this afternoon!"

Bill shook Harry's hand and shrugged. "Yeah, well, Fleur has been feeling poorly in the afternoons, so we came early."

Fleur nodded, dropping their bags beside the sofa. "Eet ees very veird the vay the body reacts to babies. Eet is something I 'ave never experienced before."

Ginny nodded and took Fleur into the kitchen to be greeted by Molly. Harry sighed and returned to his place on the sofa, taking a small box out of his pocket. Bill sat beside him. "What's up, mate?" Harry shrugged, turning the box over and over in his fingers. "What's in the box?" Harry handed it to Bill, who opened it to reveal a small gold ring with a light-blue sapphire on it. "This is gorgeous. Where'd you get it?"

Harry took the box back and hid it back in his pocket in case Ginny came back. "Hermione found it in the remains of the house in Godric's Hollow. It's the ring that is on Mum's finger in the pictures I have of her."

"You plan on giving it to my only sister?" Bill placed a smirk on his lips and Harry, who appeared worried at first, laughed.

"With good intentions only, of course."

"I believe you, Potter." They sat in silence for a moment before Bill glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen. "When are you going to ask her?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't want to take the limelight away from Ron right now."

Bill sat forward, making Harry look up at him. "What did Ron do?"

Harry grinned. "Ginny said he proposed to Hermione yesterday."

Ron came down the stairs at that moment and looked down at them. Bill jumped up and met him halfway up the staircase. "It's about time you asked her you weasel."

Ron and Bill laughed and gave each other a hug before they retreated into the kitchen. Harry was again in silence when Hermione came down the stairs. "Hey, Harry."

Harry stood up and gave Hermione a hug. "Congratulations." It was soft words that came from his mouth, and she gave him a light kiss on the cheeks. He slid an arm around her waist and led her out to the front porch. It had been several days since they had had a chance to speak alone, so he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity while he still had it. The wind outside was crisp and cool; it looked as though winter was setting in. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Hermione pulled her hair behind her ears and looked up at him, the usual look of concern in her eyes. "Harry, I'm worried about you." Harry made to answer, but she stopped him. "I know I've been saying it a lot in the past few years, but it's the truth. I know you've been through so much; lost so much. But you have to remember that we all have. It will always be here to haunt us, Harry. But we have something to look towards. I have Ron, and you have Ginny. Now, I can't promise you there won't be another wizard who goes crazy and power-hungry, because there probably will be. But I can promise you that we will always be here to help."

There was a moment of silence as Harry fought back the tears that had been threatening to come. He shook his head and hugged Hermione, pulling her as close as he could. "Hermione, I love you. You're my best mate, and I wouldn't be here is it wasn't for you and Ron."

Hermione smiled and looked up at him, her bushy hair blowing with the winter breeze. Her nose was turning pink, but still her eyes twinkled. "I know. I was the brain of the operation, right?" They both laughed, and when Hermione pulled out of Harry's arms her hand brushed against his pocket and the small box inside. "What's that?"

A small blush found its way onto his cheeks as he pulled the box out. A quick glance to the door and the windows assured him that Ginny wasn't near before he opened it. "It's the ring you found at my mum and dad's house."

Hermione nodded, pulling the ring out of the box and tapping it with her wand. The dirt and dust disappeared and the sapphire sparkled up at them. "I remember." She put it back in the box with a smirk.

"Thanks." Harry put the box back in his pocket carefully. "I want to give it to Ginny, but…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Hermione had thrown her arms around him in an excited hug that only Hermione could give. "Oh, Harry! Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry blushed again and sniffed. The cold was starting to get to him. "Just, hadn't really told anyone. It's something I've been thinking about for a while."

"When are you going to?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't really want to take the celebration from you and Ron now." A hand struck him in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for, Hermione?"

"How dare you! Don't stop your plans because of me and Ron! I order you to do it!"

"Do what?"

It was as if something exploded in Harry's chest when Ginny walked through the door. They had almost been caught talking about the ring, and they both blushed. Hermione waved at Ginny and ran inside without looking back at Harry. He cleared his throat and kicked a pebble into the dirt. "Hello."

"What were you talking about?" Silence. "Hermione seemed pretty demanding." Still silence, Harry's face turning redder. "What exactly was she ordering you to do?"

Harry shook his head vigorously and took Ginny by the arm. "Nothing, let's go inside. I suppose supper's about ready?"

Ginny pulled out of Harry's grasp. "Harry, I'm worried about you. Are you sure you're okay?"

He took the red-haired girl into his arms and kissed her. It was a small but passionate kiss that left her weak in the knees. She hated how he could do that to her. She was dazed and unaware that he had returned to the house until he was calling her from the kitchen. She nodded in recognition that she had heard him and went inside. She took a seat between Hermione and Harry and leant over to her bushy-haired friend. "Hermione, can I ask you something?"

Hermione squeaked and stuffed her mouth with a dinner roll. Anytime Ginny tried to talk to her, she stuffed more food in her mouth. Finally, Ginny gave up and spent the time at the table chatting with Bill and Fleur about marriage and children. Glances at Harry told her he was nervous about something, but what she didn't know. Was it possible that he was thinking of proposing to her? No; it couldn't be. They hadn't really discussed it before. Sure, they talked occasionally about having children, but she couldn't recall when they spoke about being married to each other.

Of course, it had been a dream of Ginny's for a long time, but her comfort of just being with him almost made that dream non-existent. When their meal was in their tummy's Harry took Ginny's hand and pulled her from the table. "Could we go talk somewhere? Hermione's not going to leave me alone if I don't." Ginny gave Hermione a glance. She was watching them out of the corner of her eyes, pretending to listen to a story Fleur was telling everyone. What were these two up to?

"Sure, Harry."

Hermione watched her best mate and his girlfriend pull their jackets on and leave through the back down. When they were halfway down the hill towards the lake, Hermione pulled Ron from the table. "Come on!"

Ron, mid-way to his mouth with a spoonful of pudding, looked shocked. "Hermione! I was eating."

Hermione sighed and pulled her jacket over her shoulders. "For Merlin's sake, Ron! This is a huge moment in your sister's life! A bit of pudding can wait!"

"Blimey, what are you talking about, Hermione?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and threw his jacket at him. "Come on!"

Harry and Ginny were already down by the lake by the time Hermione and Ron got out of the door. The clouds over-head were starting to spit a soft snow. It was cold, but her heart was beating so fast with excitement for her friends that she didn't notice she hadn't put on her scarf. Ron looked bemused and dazed about spying on his sister, but followed his fiancée anyway. She led him to a small thicket of trees about 20 yards from where Ginny and Harry stood.

"Harry, we've been down here for ten minutes. It's starting to snow, and you haven't said anything. Are you sure you're alright?"

Harry swallowed; his heart pounding. "Yes, Ginny. I'm just…waiting for my stomach to come back."

Ginny watched Harry closely, and finally after a few more silent moments, he turned his dazzling green eyes towards her. "Ginny, there was a time when I thought you were just my best mates annoying little sister." She made to protest, but Harry shook his head. "Let me finish or I'll never get it out." Ginny nodded, pulling her red hair behind her shoulders. "You were annoying to me because you wouldn't ever speak to me. It drove me mad. Then, I got annoyed when you would talk to me but you acted as though I was just another Weasley. Don't ask me why that drove me mad, it just did."

Ginny smiled. "I'm glad it did. That was my goal."

Harry smiled and cleared his throat. The snow was coming down harder now, leaving a thin blanket of white across the ground. Ginny shivered, and he took off one of his jackets and put it around her shoulders. "Then Cho came, and I'm not going to talk about that because we all know how badly that turned out. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is…" He sighed. This wasn't coming out at all how he wanted it to, and he was going to blow it. What'd he have to bring Cho up for? Ginny was never going to say yes now.

Ginny, seeing the fear in his eyes, raised her hand and placed it across his cheek. She traced the outline of his lips and stared into his eyes. "Go on, Harry."

"Ginny, you have been a comfort to me. There were times last year when I wanted to give up. There were times when the end seemed so far away that I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep and let Voldemort find me and do whatever he wanted. There was a time when I felt so alone I thought I was going mad. Then I pictured your face, and how I felt when I touched your lips. The feelings that went through me when we kissed were like a match bringing me back to life. If it wasn't for you, I don't think any of us would be here celebrating Bill's birthday."

The snow was piling up, faster and faster, as if each flake was in synch with Harry's heart. The more he spoke the more he rambled, and he wasn't even sure he was making much sense. Still, Ginny stood, silently waiting with a small smile on her lips. As he looked at her in the silver glow of the moonlight, Harry realized that if he didn't do it at that moment, he would never be able to. He didn't know it, but Hermione and Ron were yards away, watching from their hiding place in the trees.

Harry gave Ginny a soft kiss, and pulled the box out of his pocket. He watched her face change from curiosity to tears of joy as he pulled the small sapphire out of its box. "When Ron, Hermione, and I were in Godric's Hollow visiting my parents' graves, Hermione found this in the rubble of Mum and Dad's old house."

Ginny couldn't take her eyes off of the ring. Harry stuffed the box back into his pocket and dropped to his knee. Ginny gasped and wiped the tears from her face. Slowly, Harry slipped the ring on her left hand. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, you are everything to me. I can't imagine going one day without you. You are my air when I breathe and my strength when I'm too weak to carry on. Will you marry me?"

Ginny stared at the small sapphire ring on her finger. She couldn't even speak for several moments. Finally, wiping tears and the snow from her face, she pulled Harry off of his knee. "Yes."

It was as though fireworks went off in his stomach. Had he heard her right? She had said it so softly. Maybe he had dreamt that she had said it? "Yes?" Ginny nodded softly, the snow falling onto her cheeks. He raised his hands and wiped the white flakes off of her pink cheeks. Her skin was cold, but he didn't care. He kissed her like he had never kissed her before. It nearly made her fall to the now snow-covered ground. She wanted to love him, but now was not the time. As he pulled away from her, it took her a moment to catch her breath. "I think we should stop." Harry's voice was soft and quiet.

Ginny nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry shook his head, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Don't. I love you."

Before Ginny could answer, a snowball hit her hard on the side of the head. "OW!" Laughter came from the trees and she recognized it immediately as Ron's. She grinned mischievously at Harry before pulling her wand out of her coat pocket. In a flash of blue light thirty snowballs formed and flew towards Ron and Hermione's hiding place. Their screams and thudding sounds told Ginny she had made contact.

It was the start of a snowball fight that lasted until nearly all the snow in the immediate area was gone. They were cold and their faces red, but their laughter was music. It was the beginning of a new era for Harry and the Weasleys. The losses of those they loved were still recent and fresh to their wounded hearts, but they would move on, the war just memories. They were and would always be unbreakable.


End file.
